EDLD 5342 Week 2 Part 4

Week 2   Part 4 – Superintendent’s Role in the Budget Process

Our Superintendent had various meetings with his Cabinet this week pertaining to the budget. However I did have the opportunity to meet with our Associate Superintendent of Business and Finance. He is the person that works closely with the Superintendent and actually puts the budget together for him, so the meeting was very insightful. Our Associate Supt. shared that under the law the Superintendent is ultimately responsible for the budget, therefore even though there is a finance department to assist, the direction for the budget comes from the Superintendent. The template from the state is used and basically thought of as a big Excel sheet. The Board and Superintendent work closely together to create the district goals and then work together to ensure that financially the goals can be met. There is also a biennium worksheet that the Board and Superintendent put together and send to the state every two years. It basically is a forecast of what will happen in our district the next two years. There is Legislative Planning and District Planning, the state posts both of the numbers and our district monitors the numbers as they continuously change all year. Their work starts in August and they meet monthly or weekly depending on what is happening in the legislator. If changes are made to the current budget or as the budget is being created, DEC (district committee) will be informed.  Eighty-five percent of our district budget is spent on payroll. The superintendent works closely with the board, Assoc. Superintendents and principals throughout the year to ensure communication of what is being spent or sharing forecasts for the upcoming year.  I learned that our Superintendent is much more involved than I thought he was; I thought the finance department plugged in a few numbers and we were done. At the end of the year we have to settle up, meaning we have to pay back or receive money from the state based on student numbers and special programs numbers. Communication is vital for the Superintendent through this process.